Erectile Dysfunction And Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Erectile Dysfunction And Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The ED affects half of the patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), characterized by obstruction or repeated episodes of collapse of the upper airway of the respiratory system that occurs during sleep. Other data: a prevalence of 10 percent of OSA is estimated in the adult population. Of that percentage, 60 percent would be men.

“We have concluded that there is a prevalence of erectile dysfunction of 51 percent in the population with newly diagnosed OSAS,” explains Dr. P K Gupta, a renowned sexologist in Delhi.

“In A study conducted on people suffering from OSA, after three months of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a 30 percent improvement in erectile function was obtained in these patients and significantly improved in sexual satisfaction,” says Dr. Gupta, Best Sexologist in Delhi.

Improves the arrival of oxygen to the erectile tissue of the penis

“We do not know the reason why the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome increases the risk of erectile dysfunction, although we could think that it may be related to the endothelial dysfunction that is involved with cardiovascular risk factors.” To be able to answer this question accurately, new studies would be needed, the sex specialist in Delhi acknowledges.

So, what is the hypothesis that leads to thinking that patients treated with CPAP would improve their sexual satisfaction? “After treatment with CPAP greater tissue oxygenation occurs, and this leads to an improvement in the arrival of oxygen at the level of the erectile tissue of the penis(corpus cavernosum and spongy). In addition, treatment with CPAP also improves the quality of sleep, decreases snoring and, therefore, to be the most rested person, increases their motivation to have sex, “says Dr. Gupta.

Can these patients take medications for erections?

Yes. As a treatment for erection, “patients with OSAS and erectile dysfunction can take medicine prescribed by sexologist doctor in Delhi if they do not have any other disease that contraindicates it. Obviously, it is a treatment that must be taken under medical prescription. Having SAOS is not a contraindication to taking this type of medication, “says Dr. Gupta.

Screening programs to detect erectile dysfunction in SAOS

The top sexologist in Delhi indicates that it would be useful to implement screening programs, since “many cases of SAOS patients with ‘hidden’ erectile dysfunction who would not have been consulted due to erectile dysfunction would be diagnosed, but they do so because of sleep apnea. In fact, to date, erectile dysfunction is still a taboo subject in our society.